Abbas-Mustan’s ‘Italian Job’ not a con job

July 16, 2009

Mumbai, With Hollywood studios keeping a hawk’s eye over the Hindi film industry, Bollywood filmmakers are growing copyright savvy and Abbas-Mustan say that their “Italian Job” won’t just be a remake of the 2003 con-caper but a “mix n match” of the original film and its remake.

“Italian Job” was originally made by Peter Collinson in 1969 with Michael Caine in the lead. In 2003, director F. Gary Gray remade it with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. Both the original and the remake were big hits.

“Our producer Studio 18 have bought the rights of both the 1969 Michael Caine film and the 2003 film. We’re doing a mix n match of ‘Italian Job’. We’re taking whatever elements we like from the two Hollywood films and putting them together in our own way,” Abbas told IANS.

In the past, Abbas-Mustan have outright lifted Hollywood films like “Disclosure” to make “Aetraaz”. Thye put them together without radical changes.

“But this time we aren’t doing that,” said Abbas currently scripting the film. “We want to turn the ‘Italian Job’ into a total desi film.”

The cast is yet to be decided. But the sources said that the director plans to rope in Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Imran Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Neil Nitin Mukesh, among others.